So it looks like Apple is opening a Apple iStore mini in (what could only be) a big box store in Victoria. The only logical place I can think of is Future Shop… ( and some local rumors point to this fact as well). Future Shop has the square footage and always tried to resell Macs but their un-informed sales people knew nothing about them, so it was never an option. I don’t think it will be London Drugs because they already have a good Apple section and typically very low square footage to allow for a store-in-a-store concept. I think Best Buy is out because it only has one location out of town.

My other hunch is that it is going to be a pilot program for Apple. If this mini store goes well, we will soon being seeing mini Apple stores pop up all across the country. I guess given this country’s large size and low population, it is a great solution… Provide hosted mini Apple stores across the country and then drop full-size stores in major cities… It took them enough time to give one to Vancouver though .

So in the long run this is great for Canadian consumers.. We will now be able to shop at Apple stores, get Apple trained sales people, and students have a place to get their student discounts on the spot.

For the resellers in this town, and soon across Canada.. looks like your reign is up… You’ll have to start treating your customers better and start thinking about offering service consulting as a big part of your business..

It’s about time Apple took notice of Canada.. now if only we can get a legit iPhone soon I’ll be happy.